Written in Blood
by condolences
Summary: About a promise that two brothers would understand throughout the rest of their lives. Oneshot.


_Firstly, a big big thank you for your kind words and favorites for "Selfish"! Your reviews keep me motivated to write more. I hope you enjoy this one._

* * *

Shizuo should've known not to make such promises to a younger kid. Kids always took promises to heart, as opposed to adults; promises just seemed to be made to be broken as you got older.

The promise was to take Kasuka to watch the trains go by under the overpass near their home whenever Kasuka felt afraid. It was a nice escape for him. For the two of them, really. Shizuo, for some reason, was just so tense all the time—must have been all the time he spent pent up in the house all day, or perhaps it was from all the pestering Kasuka subjected him to. But Shizuo understood why his brother got so scared all the time. He was just a kid, after all—so the older one never really questioned him.

But when the two of them sat over the bridge, with their little legs dangling over the railing, they felt all their troubles rise within them as they anticipated the beat of the oncoming motor. When it finally whizzed by, their legs practically flew up from the momentum, and the wail of the whistle, the pounding of the wheels on indestructible steel, and the amazing speed swallowed their little bodies whole as it sucked out their troubles. As soon as the last car was far off into the distance, Shizuo and Kasuka had forgotten what they were so worried about. Watching the trains go by gave the two of them a feeling like no other, as if life had just begun from that point on.

After that kind of exhilaration, Shizuo felt it a promise worth keeping, not matter how old they got.

* * *

One day, Shizuo was fed up. Kasuka had refused to play second controller of their new video game because of a senseless nightmare he had the night before.

"Get up," Shizuo snapped at his little brother, who was curled up in a ball in the center of his bed.

"No!" Kasuka's cry was muffled by his knees, but his little body shook from his voice. "I'm not gonna play that game again, the villain ate Mom and Dad in my dream last night, and if you play again today, he'll come back for you!"

Shizuo roared something of a baby animal's cry and had enough at that point. He grabbed Kasuka's wrist and pulled him with ease from his position and dragged him out of his bedroom door.

"Nii-san," Kasuka struggled as he tried to get his brother to loosen his grip. "Where are we going?"

"Where do you think we're going?" Shizuo barked back. "The evening train comes in fifteen minutes. I'm gonna teach you something."

Shizuo led Kasuka to their usual spot on the overpass, but as they inched closer to the railing, Shizuo took the side that was safest, while he forced Kasuka to walk on the dangerous edge that gave two inches of pavement before hitting the air.

"Nii-san-"

"Just...trust me, alright?" Shizuo tried his hardest not to be nervous in front of his terrified little brother, and gripped the wrist tighter.

"Shizuo, please! I don't like this, I'll play the game with you-"

"No!" Shizuo exclaimed. "Stop moving so much or you'll kill the both of us."

Kasuka gulped, and finally settled down. Shizuo finally stopped them at the center of the bridge, the point where they were directly above the tracks. He took Kasuka's other wrist in his other hand, making his little brother face him, with his heels jutted out into the air.

"Okay, Kasuka," Shizuo tried to sound as brave as he could for the both of them. "I'm going to teach you something about being scared."

Kasuka merely nodded, but by the way he shook, Shizuo could tell that this wasn't starting out well. The distant boom of the train's engine began to approach, and the older brother knew he had to explain quickly.

"When the train comes, I'm going to push you away from me."

"SHIZUO-"

"Stop shaking like that! I'm not stupid! I'm not going to let you go!"

The train's whistle sounded.

"I don't want to! We're gonna die, Shizuo! Please-"

The bridge began to shake.

"STOP!" Shizuo boomed in his little brother's face. "I'M NOT-"

The metal of the fences began to clatter together.

"GOING-"

The sound was almost deafening now.

"TO LET GO-"

The train shot out of the tunnel.

"OF YOU!"

As if their movements were predetermined, they clutched each other's hands as tight as they could as Shizuo pushed Kasuka into the air, so that the smaller one was suspended at an angle to the passing train. Kasuka dug his heels into the little pavement he had access to, and his eyes, as round and as wide as they could manage, looked to his brother's in horror as the train passed just a few feet below his body.

"Don't you see, Kasuka?" Shizuo called over the commotion. "I've got you! No matter how scared you get, I will always be here for you! As long as I'm here, NOTHING WILL EVER HURT YOU!"

Kasuka tightened his grip some more, and nodded.

"Don't let go of me, okay?" Shizuo called out. The train was almost fully out, and the sound began to settle. As the last train car wheeled out of the tunnel, Shizuo pulled Kasuka up and over the railing and held him close to his body, as far away from the edge as he could get.

Kasuka would walk away that day wondering how his brother managed to hold him without slipping.

* * *

Shizuo was twelve when he first asserted his strength.

He was already having a tough day at school because of his classmates tormenting him, and he knew that the sweet treat waiting for him at home would cheer him up. He had even marked the pudding as his that morning, because their mother had packed the other two for him and Kasuka for lunch. He didn't think Kasuka would want it—he never thought to offer it to him at the breakfast table.

He would never tell you what it was that compelled him to pick up, of all things, the refrigerator, or what he intended to do with the refrigerator, or even _how_ he managed to even pick it up. But as he held it high over his head, he looked Kasuka square in the eye for a split second before his bones started to give; and in that split second he saw something he never saw in his brother before. Kasuka wasn't the little kid tugging at his big brother's sleeve anymore, the one who knocked on his door to ask to sleep in Shizuo's bed because the thunder was too loud, or the one to ask him to help his skinned knee. No, Kasuka became the one to watch out for his big brother, because if he had the power to lift a three hundred pound hunk of metal and plastic without a thought, what else could he do?

After that day, they stopped watching the trains together.

* * *

With three of his limbs hooked up to a variety of contraptions as he lay on a hospital bed, Shizuo asked his one visitor, "Are you scared of me?"

Kasuka's answer was immediate. "No."

As relieved as Shizuo was, he didn't stop worrying. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

Shizuo noticed a change in his little brother's behavior; he found himself alone more often (though winding up in the hospital almost weekly limits one's ability to spend time with others), and what's worse, he barely had any friends at school because of his abilities. Kasuka had preoccupied himself with new hobbies in light of his brother's frequent absence, such as joining the Drama Club.

"Not after what you've seen me do to all those people?" Shizuo kept prodding.

"Uh uh."

Shizuo shifted as much as his body allowed on the flat bed so he could face his brother properly. "Why?"

Kasuka was not afraid of Shizuo, and never would be; if there was one thing that Shizuo did to Kasuka, it was exhausting the younger one emotionally. It wasn't easy seeing his big, strong brother break. It wasn't fun watching the one who protected you need protection. And it wasn't great having to turn into the "last chance" for your parents, the one to save them from more grief.

"It's just like you said, nii-san," Kasuka went on. "As long as you're around, I'll never get hurt."

"How are you so sure?"

"You had your chance to hurt me that day," Kasuka swung the swiveling chair around to face the window. He looked down at the city beneath him, and spotted a crater on the street corner where a lamp post used to be. "And you didn't."

_Because my bones got to me before I got to you_, Shizuo thought. But he shuddered at the thought of actually hurting his brother, and what would've happened if he did throw the damn thing. Kasuka didn't do anything to deserve what was handed to him as a result of Shizuo; the burden from their parents, the alienation at school, the constant reminders of the street of what his big brother had the capacity to do. The least Shizuo could do as an apology for this mess was to leave him out of it as best as he could.

"I promise," Shizuo began, "that no matter how strong or angry I get, it will never be towards you. I'm going to always try for you."

Kasuka turned away from the window, and nodded once at his brother. He'd heard a variation of that sometime before.

* * *

The younger one had made it big, and the eldest one's notoriety increased, if that ever counted for something.

Shizuo glanced up at the billboard containing Kasuka's brooding face and fought off a smile. He'd never felt so proud of anything or anyone else in his life.

And to think, he did all this on his own. Shizuo never helped him run his lines for the play. Shizuo never taught Kasuka how to take better care of his looks. As a matter of fact, he didn't remember teaching Kasuka anything worthwhile, or anything that would be of use to him now.

It was now him that was reliant on his younger brother; Shizuo bounced from job to job, which meant money was always tight. He never asked Kasuka up front, but the younger one seemed to know already how tough times were, and tried to make the other's life a little easier.

_And what did you do to repay him? You screwed up._

For an adult, Kasuka took that promise to heart. It's not as if Shizuo aimed to get fired again, but judging by the way he refused to pick up his phone when his big brother called, Shizuo could tell that for the first time in his life, his little brother was finally pissed off at him.

He let the smile take over his lips and looked back up at the billboard. "In any case," he whispered. "I'm happy for you, Kasuka."

* * *

"Mr. Hanejima, we're gonna have to delay the appearance for a bit. He's somewhere around the building, and the police have lost sight of him."

Kasuka, or "Yuuhei", as he was now known by, sighed as his assistant told him the news that would definitely make many TV stations unhappy. He was due for interviews at his latest movie's premiere, but word had got out of where he was staying, and a crazed stalker went out of his way to meet his idol personally.

"Is he armed?" Kasuka asked.

His assistant hestitated. "They saw a blade on him."

The actor dropped his head against the soft couch cushion. "Perfect."

"That crowd's not making things any easier," the assistant added.

Kasuka thudded his palm over his face. He was used to attracting this much attention, given that he was the one who chose this path in life, but that didn't mean he didn't get scared sometimes.

He hadn't spoken to his brother for almost a month up until that point. Between shooting, interviews, and public appearances, there wasn't a lot of room for him and Shizuo to hang out. He'd probably punch Kasuka for admitting to be scared if he were there right now. He tried to remember what Shizuo told him as a child.

_"No matter how scared you get, I will always be here for you! As long as I'm here, nothing will ever hurt you!"_

_ Yeah, but where are you now, big brother?_

"Just wake me up when you get an update," Kasuka dully informed his assistant, and he curled up in the center of the couch.

* * *

"Move," Shizuo grumbled to the throng surrounding the hotel. His body alone could shove people out of his way, and once the others turned around to see who it was, they easily parted to clear a path for him. Once he got to the hotel's front doors, the security guards held up their arms as if that could prevent him from coming in.

Shizuo pulled out his wallet and flashed them his identification. "I'm family."

"Don't matter," one of the guards crassly replied. "No one is to get in until we catch the guy."

"Let's see," Shizuo mock tapped his chin in thought. "Hasn't it been two hours since he got in?"

"Correct."

"That's a lot of time to catch the douchebag," Shizuo shrugged. "Wouldn't you agree?"

The guard clenched his jaw, obviously unhappy with his arrival.

"Are you guys doing your job, or do I have to do that for you?" Shizuo mumbled and looked up at the hotel. "How tall's this building?"

"Thirty floors."

Shizuo looked back down at the guard, and flashing a feral grin, replied, "I'll see you in twenty minutes, then."

* * *

Though, it only took the blond sibling ten minutes to hunt the crazy down, and it was only because he had stopped to use the restroom in the lobby. The entire hotel seemed to be deserted, and the tenants were forced to stay in their room. He shrugged and figured he ought to relieve himself before he started his search.

He burst in the bathroom, and was greeted by the sight of the creep that resembled the image on the news that afternoon. The creep was at a urinal, and damn near jumped at the arrival of Shizuo.

"Wh-whoa! Thought they told all the employees to go home for the day!" he nervously sputtered.

Shizuo stared for a moment at the bastard, and remembered his attire. Realizing he could've passed for a worker in the hotel's bar, he then curled his lip into a faint smile. "Guess I missed that memo." He took the urinal right next to the stalker, but didn't undo his pants.

"Aren't you ah, gonna piss?" the creep questioned. Shizuo slowly turned his head towards the other, that savage smile fully overtaking his mouth.

"Why don't you mind your business, huh?"

"My bad, buddy," the stalker laughed, and patted Shizuo on the shoulder. "But you know, you coming in here, and taking the spot right next to me-"

"My brother bought me these clothes," Shizuo annunciated, his eyes glued to that dirty hand on his shoulder.

"Right, personal space and all-"

"My brother's the one you're after, right?"

The stalker's eyes widened in fear. "N-no way..."

"And you want to find him, and do some perverted shit to my brother, _right?_"

He zipped up his pants and backed away from Shizuo. "Please, no, I'll—I'll turn myself in right now!"

Shizuo backed him into a corner, and rested his weight on one arm perched above the perp's head.

"This is the closest you'll get to touching my brother, asshole."

That was the last thing he heard before Shizuo grabbed him by his head with his free hand and smashed him against the hand dryers.

* * *

"Yuuhei!" Kasuka was woken by his assistant's overjoyed cries. "They got him!"

The actor uncurled from his ball on the couch and sat up. His assistant had turned the TV on to the news station.

_"After two hours of tracking him down, the police finally got ahold of idol Yuuhei Hanejima's stalker, who had plans to kidnap the actor."_

The image shifted to the hotel's entrance, where a tall figure burst out of the glass doors and tossed the knocked out predator at the security guards' feet.

_"Police say they owe a big thanks to this hotel employee, who had captured him in the __bathroom."_

The frame froze, and a red circle around a blond head of the tall figure told Kasuka who it was that had come to his rescue.

"The hero was not able to be reached for interviews," the reporter finished.

Three loud bangs on the door startled his assistant. Kasuka turned the TV off and crossed the large room to the door.

"Wait, Yuuhei! We haven't gotten the okay to leave the room-"

"It's him." He flatly cut his assistant off and swung the door open. Shizuo had no signs of harm on his body, and leaned cooly on the doorframe, inspecting his fingernails that were crusted in blood.

"Nii-san," Kasuka greeted. Shizuo looked up, and nodded his hello.

* * *

They were on the rooftop of the hotel. They managed (or Shizuo did, at least) to bust the locks that prevented people from coming in or out of the roof, and they sat on the edge of the building, with their identically long legs dangling into the air.

This reunion was mostly silent. Being older, they didn't ask or answer each other's questions about the simplest of things. They had a better understanding of the world's machinations and motives, but the lack of conversation didn't bother them one bit. This was quality time they were spending together, just a moment of peace both of the brothers never got anymore.

Shizuo looked down at the crowd below, that if anything, got bigger after the stalker was caught.

"Do you ever get scared of all these people?" the older one finally broke the silence. Kasuka looked below as well.

"Sometimes," he uttered. "But if it gets so bad, I just remember that day."

"What, the day I almost hurled the fridge at you?" Shizuo cringed.

"No, nii-san," Kasuka was actually smiling. "The day at the train tracks."

Shizuo immediately knew which day he was talking about, and his grin was almost identical to his brother's. "Get up."

Kasuka looked in confusion at Shizuo, who was now standing. "C'mon, just get up," Shizuo took his place behind Kasuka's body as the brunette sibling did as he was told.

"Face me," Shizuo instructed. Kasuka complied. "Okay, now take my hands. Just like that day."

Kasuka realized what his brother was doing. "Really?"

The blond nodded. "Really."

But Kasuka wasn't the scared little kid as he was on the overpass anymore. He took his brother's hands without hesitation, and took the initiative to hang his heels over the edge of the building.

"Three," Shizuo began the countdown.

"Two," Kasuka's hands gripped tighter.

"One." Shizuo returned the clutch, and gently shoved his brother away from him, until his brother was suspended at an angle over the crowd, relying on his brother's strength to keep him there. The look wasn't fear that met Shizuo's gaze; it was admiration and trust. It was knowing that no matter how much Shizuo could ruin or how angry he could get, he was still his best friend and his big brother, and his strength would never be used against his little brother.

"I've always got you, Kasuka," Shizuo declared.

"I know, Shizuo."

And life restarted for the both of them at that moment.


End file.
